[You have entered the tutorial area. Your reward upon incompletion of this trial is gratitude. Not mine. Yours.]

[A new Rule has been generated.]

The moment I stepped through the door I caught sight of an inactive fountain with a group of kids as its centerpiece statue, and four walls of solid stone that had been cut up until they depicted a strangely normal pattern of squares, each painted red and gold and green and silver. Underneath my feet was a thick blue woolen carpet, and my shoes sunk into its surface with every step.

Since the room had no exit, I wasn't sure where we were being led to. But as I looked back I saw that the door we'd entered through was gone. Strange.

“He's alone,” I murmured.

“What?” Toji asked from behind me.

I clasped my fingers tightly over my hammer. Minion Z was hovering ahead of the group, and I homed in on him. The creature was so small, but outside there had been thousands of them. Now, there was only one.

All of my senses were so focused on sight that I saw the people in front of me move before I heard them yell, and a moment later a single sound ripped through the room.

It was a gunshot.

The source was a man in the middle of the room, surrounded by crouched figures covering their ears. He was leaning against the strangely placed fountain, and in his hands was the gun I'd heard.

I gaped at the weapon in shock. Jemima had gotten a sword, and other weapons had appeared en masse. Now, someone had a gun. And I'd gotten a hammer. A. Damned. Hammer.

“I bet you didn't see this coming you son of a bitch,” the gunman said.

Minion Z had paused in mid-air, turning around slowly to face him. And I saw his three eyes narrow, each one taking on a light blue glow.

“Your weapon requires you to kill sentient beings to raise its tier,” Minion Z said, his tone half-inquiring. “Judging from your eyes, you've already fulfilled most of the requirements.”

“That's right. I was just waiting to get one of you alone,” the man smiled wickedly. “Now I have my chance.”

Before anyone could react, he whipped his gun up toward the guide. Then a shadow fell over him and he paused.

Victoria had stepped in front of him, her eyes glued onto his gun. She couldn't block his sight, she wasn't tall enough for that, but her presence made him pause.

“Rodney, you're our strongest warrior,” Victoria said. “But something's strange here. We need information, not death. Hell thrives on our impulses.”

I stared at her, and saw others doing the same. Stepping in front of a gun was no small feat, but it wasn't completely stupid either.

The man, Rodney, wasn't keen to listen. He kept his gun trained on Minion Z, and I wondered where his first bullet had gone.

“If something goes wrong, we can't afford to lose you,” Victoria pleaded.

Rodney cocked the gun with a smile. “You're damn right. And I'm not going to die. Look at the little freak, it’s quivering. All because I have the gun. Now dance.”

“Pardon me?” Minion Z’s three eyes blinked in surprise.

“Your friends at the door all played with me. So I want to play with you. Dance, or I'll kill you here and now,” Rodney said. “That staff’s not going to save you from so far away—”

Rodney’s voice cut off mid-sentence, his eyes bulging as a ripple ran across his body. A high pitched whine escaped his lips, followed by a clatter as the gun fell from his hand onto the floor. Victoria leapt back violently, her fear and confusion clear.

The man reached out to her, and then at his throat as he grasped at the air, choking on the very thing that gave him life.

It wasn't a quick death. He died in agony.

“What—what happened?” Victoria asked. She stared at Rodney’s body in confusion and horror, her shield arm falling limp at her side.

“He threatened me,” Minion Z stated in a tone that sounded more like he was reading out the weather report than explaining a death. “I am sorry. A needless death is a heavy blow. Now there are only twenty-four of you, and there were already too few.”

Minion Z paused to make sure we were all listening. I looked away from the corpse, and covered Toji’s eyes as the guide continued.

My other hand hadn't let go of the hammer, but now wasn't the time to try and see if Minion Z’s flesh was malleable.

“There is something everyone must know before they enter the Towers, they’re called the Rules. This is as good a time as any to teach you about them,” Minion Z tapped his staff against the wall. “Say the word, rule.”

“Rule,” I said. My voice mingled with those of the people around me.

A blue box appeared the moment I spoke.

[Trial rule: Do not threaten targets not specified verbally by the tutorial guide.]

“We can't see the penalty here,” Victoria’s eyes flashed. The man who died had been part of her group. “Is death the punishment for a broken Rule?”

“No,” Minion Z shook his head. He waved his hand toward the cavern wall and it rumbled.

Five pillars of stone emerged from the walls and pieces of their body fell off until they had formed five stone Towers. They were all tiny compared to the real things, but the sight of them spurred anger in me.

“There is only one way to find out what a trial’s penalty is. Break the Rule,” Minion Z said. “Or get someone else to break it for you.”

Then, the guide did something unexpected.

Minion Z inhaled deeply, his stomach bulging out, and he let out a mighty shout. “I'll tear you pieces of shit apart!”

The words shocked me to my core, and I stared at the tiny Minion with confusion and an inkling of respect. The guide didn't grasp for air like Rodney had, instead, he scratched at his skin, and it started to peel like a sunburn.

Red and black flakes fell to the ground, replaced by a tinge of vibrant neon green.

“Your skin changed color,” Toji exclaimed in surprise beside me.

Minion Z tore his gaze away from the replicas of the Towers and his eyes bored into Toji. The child grabbed my side, hiding his form behind me, and I twitched my hammer warily.

“Yes, it did. Very observant.” Minion Z said. “Penalties for breaking a Rule are not always deadly. A penalty is always a change in the environment, or in your own nature. For example, breaking the penalty for this trial will cause you to become unable to breathe air for five minutes, but you can breathe in water. That's a common one. Another common penalty is to encase the trial area in fire.”

“Those both sound terrible,” Norwood interjected. He was furious, and his eyes could have conjured the flames that he was objecting to.

He’d been fine with the death on the side of the room. Emotionless, even. Which meant it had been the mention of the penalties that angered him, or maybe just the randomness of them.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“That depends on whether or not you benefit from being set on fire,” the guide replied curtly. “Do not mistake the penalty for an outright punishment. The Towers are rarely that simple.”

The guide grew quiet, and I wondered if the penalty for breaking the Rule was hurting him, or if he was just hungry. I couldn't read him at all, even if he showed emotion every now and then.

“What's the difference between you and him?” Victoria asked, gesturing vaguely at the corpse in the corner of the room.

“I entered the floor at a different location and time than you did, and the administrators like me more,” Minion Z answered. “If you only remember one thing I say, remember this. Rules are set by the administrator of the Tower you're in. A lenient Rule can mean the difference between life and death. That’s why you should never, ever piss them off.”

“That's not fair,” Norwood said.

“Nothing’s fair in the Tower, and that in itself is its equality,” Minion Z said.

“Why?” I asked. “This all feels like a game, and I can't figure out a reason for it. So, why?”

Minion Z paused, the flapping of its tiny wings slowing down to a crawl.

“You do not understand. And no matter what I tell you, you will never understand.” The pudgy being’s voice was low and solemn, and he turned away from us. “For that I am grateful. Not all questions should be answered. And not all minds can accept the answers even if they hear them.”

There was no condescension in his tone, or hostility. Instead, a different emotion scraped the Minion’s throat.

It was sympathy.

I refused to back down. “Is there a way for me to find those answers?”

Minion Z paused, and rubbed his chin, his red skin flaking off as he did so. “Those who conquer a Tower are granted the title of Star. One additional Star is added for each Tower they conquer. Join their ranks, and you will find few willing to ignore your questions. Though that path will only lead to your death. It is likely that none of you will encounter a Star in your lifetime, let alone become one.”

He stared at me as though expecting me to object, but I simply nodded. I'd gotten an answer, and I had a feeling that the guide could do much more than relying on the penalty to kill anybody that turned against him.

Besides, his words had already given me too many things to think about.

I glanced at the people around me.

Hadn't we all just been interviewed by a Star? No, apparently not. I couldn't see any confusion on their faces.

“Now then, we need to begin the true tutorial,” Minion Z waved his hand again, and the stone towers crumbled to dust. “The System. Stats. Skills. These are what I'll be teaching you about. They are the key to your survival. We will start with the System.”

“The System goes by many names, and it permeates all. It is a guiding force, and it is a ruler. It stands by the side of heroes, and festers the most evil of hearts. It's function is simple, it brings order to everything in the universe. And, as a consequence, we may access it and learn our own deficiencies. By borrowing its power, you can even gain abilities previously unattainable. I'm sure you've all experienced this.”

Everyone nodded, including Toji, and I won inferred what the boy's skill was. It was probably something better than [Crafting].

A loud bang accompanied the guide’s words, and I saw that Victoria had stepped forward and stomped on the ground to get his attention.

“Is it God?” She whispered, her voice reverent.

“To some,” Minion Z replied.

“Civilisations vary in their use of the System. A rare few discover the System’s uses before the Towers arrive. Those tend to rise quickly and produce many Stars compared to the norm. Others, like your world, simply bathed in its echoes. For those worlds, a full integration is necessary.”

“What is a skill?” Toji asked. “I've played a lot of video games. Is this like that?”

He clutched his console in his hand, and I saw his fingers turning pale as he use force to make then stop trembling.

Minion Z cracked a smile. “I do not know these video games you refer to, but I appreciate the attempted analogy. Skills, at their heart, are an expansion of your existence. They change what you are capable of, and the System is what changes you. They go hand in hand with the counterparts, stats.

If skills are an expansion, then stats are what solidify your being. They are you, and you are them. And seeing how little stats you all have brings me great sorrow. You are all crippled, and deformed, you simply cannot see it. Bah. I'm getting ahead of myself.”

Minion Z waved his hand dismissively and the floor reacted, stone spikes shifting and piercing through the carpet.

The sound of tearing was the least of my issues as ai shifted to avoid the spikes. As they stabbed into he air, their tips rippled and melted, the gooey pieces sinking into themselves and merging to become stable circular platforms.

Soon, there was a platform one for each of us, with the exception of Rodney’s corpse, and they reached up to our waists.

On top of the platforms were three glowing stones that I recognised intimately. They were F-ranked essence stones, identical to the hundred I had stored in my inventory.

“You may threaten these objects if you get frustrated,” Minion Z declared. “Now then, these are called essence stones. Every denizen of the Towers forms one over time, but they also form naturally in places with high levels of essence. Pick the first ones up.”

Several people hesitated, including Victoria. I picked up the essence stone immediately, and Toji quickly followed.

[You have picked up an F-rank essence stone (Enchanted)]

“Enchanted?” I asked, mostly to myself.

I peered at the stone carefully, and as my fingers wrapped around it a series of silver lines appeared within its glowing body. A rune, small as a fingernail, was carved into the center of the stone.

“Yes, enchanted,” Minion Z confirmed. “Enchantments are not mine to teach. However, if you hold this essence stone for ten seconds, it will glow in accordance to your intelligence and wisdom. A green glow indicates higher intelligence. A blue glow indicates more wisdom.” He clapped his pudgy green hands together, causing several people to jump. “Oi, slackers, stop wasting my time and touch your hands upon the first stone. Ten seconds isn't going to kill you. Not in this tutorial.”

Self preservation quickly won over hesitation and the remaining holdouts gripped the essence orbs tightly. The same tune activated within each one, but nobody looked interested in the strange lines.

Nobody except me.

I wanted to know how they worked. And what they did. Like a moth drawn to a flame, curiosity rose within me and dared me to jump with eyes closed into the highway of knowledge that presented itself.

A blue glow interrupted me as my essence stone finally began to work. My light wasn't very bright. In fact, it was kind of dim.

Toji’s bright blue light beat mine. So did a few other people’s. To my surprise Victoria had more intelligence than wisdom, a fact that she looked proud of as her light cascaded further than the ones around her.

Norwood’s essence stone glowed the brightest of all, becoming a shining beacon of ogreen in the darkened hall.

“Impressive intelligence,” Minion Z didn't hide his surprise. “It's not often a newcomer shows such talent.”

“It's only natural for one who has seen through the true nature of the dream,” Norwood smiled.

The people around him clapped, and even Victoria’s group looked humbled.

“Yes, but do not overestimate yourself,” Minion Z warned. “There are denizens in the Towers who would laugh at your display. And certain Stars can produce a light as bright as the sun.”

Norwood nodded politely, but I could tell he wasn't convinced.

“Allow me to show you the difference between you and a being that has taken advantage of what the System has to offer,” the guide added, unfurling his hands in front of him and revealing an essence orb in each palm. “Because there are two orbs, my wisdom and intelligence stats will be divided evenly between them.”

He had a cheeky smile that stirred a memory within me. Jemima donned the same smile whenever she was about to win a game of cards, or kick someone's ass.

With a swift movement I covered my eyes, but I still caught the tail end of the explosion that erupted from the Minion’s hand.

I was blind!

Because of my quick reaction, the light soon faded. I was the first to recover, and I saw that Minion Z was smiling.

The guide wiped the smile off his face as the next person recovered, and then shook his head in dismay. “Now you know.”

“What—ow, my eyes—what exactly do these stats do?” Victoria asked, rubbing her pupils and blinking. “Oh lord that stings.” She paused, startled, and then made the sign of the cross. “Please forgive me for using your name in vain.”

Minion Z ignored her actions and focused on her question. “Ah, yes, that is a tricky question to answer. So I won't,” he chuckled at our expressions. “But next is vitality, and strength. These won't be measured because you're too weak to crush rocks. Instead, I'll provide a demonstration. Here.”

The guide raised his hand and I saw that the essence stones had been replaced by cold, hard steel. Clutched in his tiny fingers was a gun. Rodney's gun.

When had he picked that up?

“Y—you used that flash to steal it!” Victoria yelled.

“If you'd been using your wisdom instead of intelligence you might have figured that out before I did it,” Minion Z pointed the gun toward us. “Such a fun weapon. Powerful too, despite its drawbacks.”

He hummed, training the gun on each of us in turn.

“You,” he said.

I found myself staring into the barrel of Rodney’s gun. Minion Z’s smiling face sat behind it. The little creature had turned fully green now, and it made him look all the more menacing.

Then, he did something I didn't expect.

He floated down and handed me the gun. When my startled fingers finally grasped it, the minion placed the barrel against his neon green forehead, right in the middle of his three glowing eyes.

“Go ahead.”

Minion Z smiled.

“Shoot me.”